Wrong Sitting Postures You Must Avoid

A week ago, I wrote about some of the bad sleeping postures one must avoid for preventing certain physical ailments. This week, I am continuing my article regarding improper postures. This article deals with some of the wrong sitting postures that may give you few other physical ailments, some even leading to permanent physical damage. I am including here not only the way you sit on a chair, but even on a sofa or on the floor. So, here is a list of some of the wrong sitting postures you must avoid.

Wrong posture 1: Slouching/Slump

This is one of the most commonly encountered positions, if you are working in front of a computer. Do take a look at this picture. I bet that either you sit in this pose at work or one of your team mates does. You may have also seen any of the kids in your relatives’ families sit like this while playing video games. Some of the effects on health due to this position include shortening the muscles in the front of spine, while overstretching the muscles at the back of the spine. Slouching also leads to poor breathing and lower back pain. Continuing this position over years could potentially lead to a hunch back.

Wrong posture 2: Forced upright

This may not be a commonly observed sitting position. However, people may follow this out of ignorance and to avoid a slumping posture. However, this position too is an unhealthy one. Try this position for an hour and you will already feel a stiff neck as well as a lower back pain. Continue sitting in this position for days and it can easily affect cerebral blood circulation, lower digestion cause stiff shoulders as well as back pains. This position can also reduce the mean arterial pressure significantly, which is bad in many cases.

Wrong posture 3: putting weight on a shoulder

This is a pose you may see while someone is sitting on the floor. This may be uncommon in the western culture where most people sit either on a chair or sofa, but may be common in cultures where people tend to sit on the floor. Putting up a picture here is a difficulty for me. So, let me explain it through my personal experience. In this posture, you tend to sit on one side of your body while trying to rest on the shoulders of that side (half resting position on that side). Resting in this position for a long time easily leads to shoulder pain or even pain in the shoulder blades. It may also hurt your hip joint if you continue sitting like this for long hours, especially watching a movie.

Wrong posture 4: Upper back against wall

I couldn’t see a worse sitting position than this. You can call this another form of slouching. This position involves sitting with your legs stretched forward, only with your upper back and neck supported against a wall/support. What more do you need to have a lower back, spine, neck and shoulder pain after some time, especially if you are supported against a hard surface? Continuing sitting in this position also eventually hampers your entire body posture.

I will try to find some other wrong sitting postures apart from these. Meanwhile, do feel free to add any other wrong seating positions you may have seen.

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Karthik Kashyap 4 years agofrom India

thanks for sharing Cathy :) Yeah, people having desk jobs are very much prone to back and neck pains.

Ms. Immortal 4 years agofrom NJ

Thanks, great hub. Sitting all day at your desk can be hard on the back. I have a friend who had this problem and bought himself a kneeling chair. He althernates back and forth between chairs and this seems to help.